Elbow Fork in Millcreek Canyon

Brian got home from Texas on Friday night and I was so glad.  The house feels so empty without him and there is no one to watch Portlandia skits right before bed with (last night we were dying laughing over the "Mother's Sun" clip.  Brian goes, "I just love this show so much!" Ha!)  Honestly, this weekend was a rough one for me, emotionally, and I was just really glad that Brian was back to spend time with.  

On Saturday morning, we took a hike up in Milcreek Canyon to see the fall colors.

It kind of turned out to be a fall wonderland up there- Utah, seriously, you are a gorgeous babe! 

We wanted to drive all the way up Millcreek Canyon, but towards the top there were a bunch of cars that were slipping and sliding on the icy road.  We decided to park and walk up instead, but it was actually too slippery to even walk on.  We got back in the car and drove back down the canyon to the Elbow Fork trailhead.

The part of the Elbow Fork trail that we hiked went mainly along the top of one side of the canyon, so we had a great view while walking.  Samantha raced ahead, splashed in puddles, and found some other  dogs to play with along the trail.

The snow was melting along the sunny parts of the trail, but we could see a lot of snow up higher in the mountains.

Snow mixed with fall leaves along the shady banks of the trail

Muddy, stinky dog on the ride home, even with the windows open.  She loves it so much when we take her up into the mountains, though, so we don't really mind.

This week, I will be finishing up the admission steps for the rest of my nursing prerequisites.  I get to sign up for classes at the first of next month.  I finally have resident status now, after going last week to get my Utah drivers license and taking the Utah driving test (aughh) and living in Utah for one year.  As a non Utah resident, classes at the college I will be attending would have been twice as expensive as classes taken as a resident, so we decided to wait a year.  Now that I'm official, I can't wait to get this going.  It feels like I've been in the process of becoming a nurse forever, and I can't wait to finally do this!  I've been able to work with some great nurses while working as a CNA this year.  I have asked them tons of questions about nursing, and they also let me watch everything they do and teach me a little about it.  I already have an idea of what areas of nursing I might like to go into, and I wonder if I will choose one of those after I'm finished with school.

My parents are coming to visit at the end of this month and I can't wait.  Brian and I have so many places to show them!

I was a greeter for both am services at church this week and really loved it.  Actually, one of my favorite parts was getting to hear all of the worship songs three times (practice before church, plus two services).  Our church band is super loud and I love losing myself in the music and singing along.